the Church by Diocesan Bishops is agreeable to the practice of the best and purest Ages of the Church and to the Judgment of the wisest and holiest Fathers of it And that their Power and Jurisdiction was as absolute and extended as far or farther than any Bishops this day in England I shall shew hereafter that Episcopal Government as now settled in England has been and is at this day commended and approved of by all the most Eminent Divines beyond Seas Perhaps some may say if the Government of the Church by Diocesan Bishops be so agreeable to that of the Primitive Church and approved of by other reform'd Churches as we pretend it is how comes it that they all did not follow the pattern of England and become all Diocesan Churches I answer They may as well ask us Why all the Nations of the World that were subject to the Roman Emperors did not upon the decay of the Roman Empire when they resum'd their just Rights of Government to themselves become all Monarchies according to the Pattern of England Some Nations besides England Ireland and Scotland did assume Episcopal Government as Denmark Sweden c. but perhaps it was not consistent with the present Circumstances or Politick Constitution of all places at the time of the Reformation to set up Episcopal Government as indeed it was not And therefore since neither Episcopal nor any other particular kind of Government is so essential to a Church as that a true Church may not be without it in case of indispensible Necessity they put themselves some under one Form of Government some under another as was most agreeable to their present constitution but with this Caution every where That all Protestants of every whole Church be the Government what it will should be oblig'd to Conform to the Establish'd Church in which they liv'd For though every National or whole Church had a Power to chuse what kind of Government they pleased for themselves yet 't was never allow'd that particular scrupulous People among themselves had Power to do so too This Power of subdividing was never pretended to nor practis'd in any other Nation since the Reformation but in England So that though they do all allow the Antiquity and Usefulness of Episcopal Government yet since 't is not Essential to a true Church no more than that of the Presbyterian or Independent nor convenient at this time for all places some may refuse it and yet it does not follow that we in England should do so since 't is convenient for us and more agreeable to the Laws and Constitution of these Kingdoms and comes by much nearer the Practice of the Primitive Churches than any other whatsoever But they say we make Episcopal Government Essential to a true Church for that we will suffer none to execute the Office of a Minister here in England unless they be ordain'd by a Bishop To this I answer 'T is plain we do not make Episcopal Government Essential to a true Church For we allow all the Reform'd Churches to be true Churches and Communicate with them and yet some of them have no Diocesan Bishops 'T is true by the Laws of this Church and Nation none are to be admitted to execute the Office of a Minister in any Cathedral or Parish Church or Chapel nor to hold any Ecclesiastical Benefice within these Kingdoms but such as are willing to submit to the Orders and Government of this Church and the Laws of the Land And therefore since both the Laws of this Church and Nation do require that all Ministers who desire to serve in this Church shall declare publickly that they assent to and approve of our Form of Worship c. and are willing to use the same as the Church appoints and that they shall receive their Ordination and Licence to execute their Office from the Bishops 'T is but reasonable that such as want these Qualifications shou'd be refus'd the Liberty of executing their Office in these Kingdoms * The Church of England does not say absolutely that all those Ministers who want Episcopal Ordination are no true Ministers but only that none shall be accounted a lawful Bishop Priest or Deacon so as to execute their Function in the Church of England unless they be once Ordain'd by a Bishop as appears by the Preface to the Ordination But the reason we refuse them is not so much because that Presbyterian Ordination does not make them true Ministers according to God's Law as though no instance can be given of Ordination without a Bishop in Scripture or Antiquity but all to the contrary because they stubbornly refuse to submit to our Laws and Constitutions and contemn the lawful Authority under which God has plac'd them and commanded them that they should obey And this is evident from the Statute of 14 Car. 2. In which there is a particular Proviso That all Ministers of Foreign reform'd Churches who come into this Kingdom by the King's Permission are to be excepted out of and excus'd from the Penalties of that Act. And this Custom of requiring Conformity and Subscriptions from all who desire to be admitted to the Office of the Ministry is agreeable to the Practice of every settled Church that has been ever since Christ's days as will appear hereafter The 3d. Objection against the Constitution of our Church is That our * By National Churches are meant the whole Churches of such Nations as upon the decay of the Roman Empire resum'd their just Right of Government to themselves both in Church and State National Church which we call The Church of England has no Foundation and wants Discipline All being incroach'd and swallow'd up in the Bishops and the Pastors of every Parish who ought to have full Power to execute every part of it are depriv'd thereof But this is false for the Presbyters in our Church have as great Power in Ecclesiastical Matters as ever they had in the Primitive Church What Power are they depriv'd of by the Bishops that they had then By the Laws of our Church no Rules of Discipline no Articles of Doctrine no Form of Worship can be introduc'd by the Bishops or impos'd upon any without the consent of the whole Presbytery of the Nation in Convocation who appear either in Person or by Proxy The only Authority that the Bishops of the Church of England have above the Presbytes is Government Ordination and Censures which were all appropriated to the Apostles and Bishops in the Primitive Church St. Cyprian assures us it was so in the African Church in his Third Book Ep. 10. 12. 28. 27. And so it was in St. Augustine's Time See Cod. Eccl. Afr. c. 6 7 9 c. But say they the Power of Ordination is taken away from the Presbyters and lodg'd solely in the Bishops and 't is plain say they in the Apostles days the Presbyters did Ordain for Timothy was ordain'd by laying on the hands of the
as the Roman Empire began to decline there follow'd a general decay of Learning and gross Ignorance had over spread the Earth insomuch that many of the Priests themselves cou'd not read Latin and then it was no difficult Matter to bring in what Heresies and Schisms Men wou'd And this was the time that most of the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome were introduced as Dr. Comber observes in his Advice to the Roman Catholicks of England Under this Cloud of Ignorance and Darkness did the Church lie hid for many Hundreds of Years till about the Year 1510. when it pleased God to open the Eyes of some of his People and to let them see those great Abuses with which the World had been so long abus'd and under the Burden of which the Church had groan'd for so many Hundred Years And though here in England there has been for many Years before the Reformation a strong Disposition that way as may appear by the several Acts of Parliament made since the Conquest to lessen and take away the Pope's Power and Authority as well in Ecclesiastical as Civil Matters within these Kingdoms See Coke's 5 th Rep. De jure Regis Ecclesiastico Yet the Pope had always so great an Interest at Court and the Clergy in the Nation having got most of the Lands into their own Hands that this glorious Design cou'd never be accomplish'd till it pleased God to make an open breach between King H. 8. and the Pope upon which he totally rejected the Pope's Supremacy and assum'd to himself the stile of Supream Head of the Church in these Nations and Defender of the Faith And thus the Pope being quite forsaken 't was likely Popery wou'd not live long having lost its Infallible Head And so indeed it prov'd For in King Edw. 6. days Popery was quite turn'd out of Doors by the general consent of the whole Nation whose Example many of the Churches beyond Seas follow'd And thus the general Reformation was happily begun and the Christian Church being stript of all its antick Disguises began to appear again and shine forth in its natural Form and Brightness But because 't was impossible to bring the People clearly off from what they and their Ancestors had been bred up in and accustom'd to for so many Ages or to make them capable of distinguishing on a sudden between things hurtful in Religion and things Indifferent therefore 't was thought convenient that no Alterations shou'd be made in things Indifferent nor any Scruples rais'd about them which wou'd at that time have hinder'd much the Reformation since many were with difficulty enough brought to things necessary So that for this Reason as also to let our Enemies see that we did not break Communion with them for Indifferent things many things were retain'd at the beginning of the Reformation that were afterwards Reform'd In the days of Edw. VI. the Liturgy and Publick Service of the Church was Corrected and Amended And this was done with all the Care and Deliberation imaginable and the King and Parliament took the best Advice in the doing of it that cou'd be had either at home or abroad Which makes me indeed admire to hear every illiterate Dissenter find so many Faults in the Liturgies and Worship of the Church of England that was so well approv'd of then by all those Holy Bishops and Martyrs that were our first Reformers and by Calvin Bucer and all the Eminent Divines beyond Seas 'T is very strange to think that such Excellent Men and Men of such indefatigable Pains and great Integrity as Cranmer Ridly Latimer and Bradford c. were after all their diligent Enquiry and fervent Prayers to God that he would direct them in the Performance and Management of so great a Work cou'd not after all spy so much as a mote of Unlawfulness in those things that now every Dissenting Preacher though never so raw or illiterate yea and the very meanest of the People can see such Beams in 'T is certain that our terms of Communion are the same or rather easier now than they were then as most of the Dissenters will allow and as Dr. Stillingfleet has prov'd at large in his Mischiefs of Separation During all the Reign of King Edward VI. there were no Divisions in this Church about these Matters There might have been some in those Days that might have wish'd for a farther Reformation as no Church ever yet wanted such But there was no such thing as Separation from the Church and going to separate Meetings upon that account No 't was so far from that that when actual Separation was first begâ—n in Queen Elizabeth's Days those who practis'd it were severely Condemned by most of those who were very desirous of a farther Reformation The time when Separation first began in the Church of England was about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign For after Queen Mary's Death the Ministers and others who were Banished and Fled in her time began to flock back again into England but the Impressions which were made on some of our Divines during their Banishment especially those who continued at Geneva a place always inveterate against Ceremonies did not wear off at their return home but after a little while they began to insinuate into the People who are ever fond of Novelties a hatred to the Livery of Antichrist as they call'd the Vestments and Ceremonies upon which some of the People began to Separate and this was the first occasion of pressing Uniformity with Laws and Penalties The Queen and Parliament now began to see it Necessary for the Quiet of the Church and Nation and for the avoiding farther Divisions upon this account that all the Clergy shou'd give some assurance of their Conformity and Obedience to the Laws of this Land and the Religion Establish'd by Law and to the Orders and Discipline of the Church agreeable to Law And accordingly certain Articles and Subscriptions were agreed on and such of the Clergy as would not Subscribe thereto were Suspended They who were Suspended writ to their Oracle at Geneva Beza who was a Man of greatest Authority with them to know what they shou'd do Beza advises them That if they cannot otherwise be continued in their Offices but by wronging their Consciences that they should submit and live quietly but by no means to exercise their Function against the Will of their Queen and Bishops for says he We tremble at the thoughts of that * See Dr. Stillâ—â—â—fleet's Mischief of Separation Pag. 20 21 c. But he tells them farther That though he does not approve of the Ceremonies yet being 〈◊〉 Evil in themselves he does not think them 〈◊〉 that moment as that the Ministers shou'd leave their Functions for them or the People forsake the Ordinances rather than hear those who did Conform And it seems indeed that the more Serious and Learned of those Divines who in their Banishment had suck'd in a Dislike to the
the People answer'd We lift them up unto the Lord. See Cypr. de Orat. Dom. § 22. See more for this interchangable way of praying between Priest and People B. Bils of Christian Subjection part 4. p. 435. In the same Century Origen says They who served God through Jesus in the Christian way use frequently night and day the injoined Prayers See Orig. in Cels l. 6. p. 302. And St. Basil in his Book de Spirit Sanct. c. 29. p. 221. tells us That Gregory Thaumaturgus who was his Predecessor in the Bishoprick of Neocaesarea and cotemporary with St. Cyprian composed a Liturgy and appointed Ceremonies for that Church And that too in an age when miraculous Gifts lasted In the beginning of the fourth Century Ann. Dom. 312. the first Christian Emperor Constantine as Eusebius tells us in his Life of Constantine lib. 4. c. 17. p. 395. order'd his Palace after the manner of a Church and would take the Books himself into his hands either for explaining the Holy Scripture or repeating the prescrib'd Prayers in his Royal Family In the same Century Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria shews us that the Priests and People pray'd by way of Responses in that Church for in his Epist to Solitar p. 239. he says The People mourned and groaned to God in the Church all of them crying to the Lord and saying Spare thy People good Lord spare them c. By which it seems the Church did not think it enough then for the People to say Amen but appointed them distinct and intelligent answers In the same Century the Council of Laodicea Can. 15. Bev. Tom. 1. p. 459. appointed Canonical Singers who sang out of Books and none but they were allow'd to begin the Hymns And the same Council Can. 18. Bev. Tom. 1. p. 461. Ordained that the very same Liturgy of Prayers should be used always both at three in the Afternoon and in the Evening And now because this Council is so plain evidence against the Dissenters that they have no way to answer it they fly again to their last refuge which is to deny the Authority of this Council for they say this Council of Laodicea was but a Provincial Synod or Council But tho' we grant 't was no more but a Provincial Synod yet I hope a Provincial Council of Orthodox Bishops were Good Authority But besides this very Canon concerning Liturgies was taken into the Code of the universal Church and confirmed by the Council of Chalcedon which was a general Council And that they us'd Forms of Prayer and Responses and Alternate way of Singing in the African Church appears by St. Cyprian before And by Optatus Melevianus l. 2. p. 47. for there he blames the Donatists for shutting the mouth of all the People and forcing them to be silent See also St. Augustine de Eccles Dog c. 30. Tom. 3. p. 46. Many more Instances and Authorities may be given to the same purpose as St. Basil Ep. 63. p. 843. and Ep. 68. p. 856. where he says That a Prayer wherein there are not conjoin'd voices is not half so strong as otherwise it would be Conc. Carthag Can. 106. Bev. Tom. 1. p. 640. But I will referr the Reader to Dr. Comber of Liturgies and Dr. Falkner his Defence of Liturgles Our Dissenters object against our alternate way of praying as in our Litany where the Priest says half the Sentence and the People the rest for that neither Priest nor People speak a complete Sentence and therefore our Prayer is imperfect and we do but mock God But by what has been said it appears that this praying by way of Responses was us'd in the purest Ages of the Church and by the Holiest Men. But pray Why may not the words make as perfect a Prayer when they are pronounced by two Mouths as when only by one Prayer is not the pronouncing of words but the joining the desire and consent thereto and this they may do as well when they are pronounced by several Mouths as by one They may as well say That when a Tune is play'd by a Consort of Musick and the Trebles rest and let the Tenors and Bases go on as sometimes they do that the Tune is not a compleat and perfect Tune for if you take either part singly it is not but altogether it is too great Advantage The Advantage of this way of Praying by Responses is That we can give our hearty Consent to each Petition after a more lively manner than by barely saying Amen And also by our frequent answering of whole Sentences our Fancies are the more stirr'd up and enliven'd by shaking off that dulness and drowsiness that otherwise would be apt to seize upon our Spirits in barely listening to one long continued Prayer And in the Primitive Church they had certain Prayers for certain Times and Occasions as Easter-Eve c. See Leo in Vit. Chrysost Tom. 8. p. 288. c. Thus much for the practice of the Primitive Church Now let us come a little nearer our own time and see what the Opinion of other Reformed Churches is concerning prescrib'd Forms of Prayers and Liturgies and this we do the rather because the Dissenters are perpetually calling upon us to reform our selves to the example of other Reform'd Churches Tho' I think under favour we of England have no more reason to follow the pattern of other Nations as to the Reforming and Governing of our Church than we have to do so in Matters of State since we have as absolute and independent Power of Reforming our selves as any of them and God be thank'd as able and godly Ministers both in Church and State to direct us therein They may as well quarrel with us because we do not depose our King and reduce our Government from that of a limited and mixt Monarchy to a Common-wealth like that of Geneva But since they insist so must upon this I will make it appear that the Church of England comes nearer to the judgment and practice of all the Reformed Churches in using prescribed Forms of Prayer than the Dissenters do in rejecting them I will begin with the Lutheran Churches which I shew'd before are acknowledged to be true Churches and which far exceed in number the Churches that follow Calvin's method Luther himself compos'd a Form of Common-Prayer for the Church of Wittemburg taken out of the Mass Book See Luther's Epist Tom. 2. p. 384. And all the Churches of his Communion at this day do use a Liturgy containing Collects Epistles Gospels for every Sunday Prayers and Litanies together with all other parts of Ecclesiastical Ministration as our Common-Prayer Book does and which agrees with ours almost verbatim especially in the Litany And these are impos'd on the Churches as particularly the Churches of Denmark and the Churches in Upper Hungary which are all Lutheran And the Lutheran Churches do chant their publick Prayers as we do in our Cathedrals And they observe Holy Days See all this proved at large